LiveScience Image Gallery

Expedition Everest

© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

Giant Panda

This Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca happily snacks on a piece of bamboo grass in China. Pandas are well known for their black-and-white coloring, which some scientists think they developed to spot other pandas more easily in dense forests. Click to enlarge.
© Joe Rohde, Disney Imagineering

Qinghai vole

A new subspecies of a small mammal known as the Qinghai vole (Microtus fuscus), a new record for the Sichuan province. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

Red panda

Here’s a critter who doesn’t like having its picture taken. The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens and also known as the Lesser Panda, is a bit of a classification enigma for scientists—this cat-sized bamboo chomper has been grouped with raccoons, bears, and even skunks. Recent DNA analysis suggests it might belong to its own, unrelated family. Click to enlarge.
© Joe Rohde, Disney Imagineering

Jumping "Yeti" mouse

Not quite as formidable as the abominable snowman, the Sichuan jumping "Yeti" mouse (Eozapus setchuanus) from China can be identified by the ‘Y’ marking on its cute, fuzzy belly. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Russell A. Mittermeier

Golden monkey

A female Qinling golden monkey, also known as Rhinopithecus roxellana or the snub-nosed monkey, photographed on the Zhouzhi Reserve. This particular lady has no reason to frown—once critically endangered, these monkeys are now thriving. Click to enlarge.
© Anne Savage

Serow

Photographers interrupted this Serow, Nemorhaedus sumatraensis, while it was having a late-night snack in Nepal. Serows are goat-sized and nearly as agile on the mountain slopes. Strangely, both sexes grow beards and horns. Click to enlarge.
© CI, James Sanderson

Himalayan tahr

A Himalayan tahr trying to avoid the paparazzi in Nepal. Himalyan tahrs, Hemitragus jemlahicus, are very shy creatures and are difficult to approach without scaring away. Both males and females grow horns, which males use to fight over mates. Click to enlarge.
© David Emmett

Wild boar

This wild boar is a real porker. Although they’re the wild ancestor of domesticated pigs, these guys, Sus scrofa, are much grumpier and can become aggressive if cornered. Click to enlarge.
© David Emmett

Paa Frog

A Paa frog, photographed in Nepal. Ever wonder why frogs are green? Follow this link to find out. It’s not as easy as you might think. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

Aphaenogaster Ant

Aphaenogaster ants, such as this one photographed in the Sichuan Province in China, belong to a family of harvesting ants. Species from this family can be found around the world and help disperse plant seeds. Recent studies have revealed that ants teach each other how to find food. Click to enlarge.
© Dr. Gary Alpert

Giant "yak killer" hornet

The giant Asian hornet (Vespa mandarinia) has earned the nickname “yak killer” from local villagers. At nearly 2 inches long, they’re the world’s largest hornets. Victims describe their quarter-inch-long stingers as feeling like a hot nail. The stinger delivers a lethal venom that dissolves human tissue, and, as the name implies, can kill a yak. Click to enlarge.
© Dr. Gary Alpert

Yellow ant

This ant, photographed in Nepal, is a member of the genus Lasius. Their cousins in the Alps serve as natural compasses for goatherders since they build grassy mounds that always face east. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

New grasshopper

“Hey! Get off my back!” This new wingless grasshopper species, Kingdonella, was discovered in China. The male of this group rides the females’ back for days at a time to prevent other males from mating with her. These hoppy insects can withstand extremely low temperatures and communicate by “gnashing” their teeth. Click to enlarge.
© Lu Shunqing

Torrent Frog

A torrent frog, photographed in China. Recent studies have shown that a torrent frog’s specialized ears allow it to communicate with friends using ultrasonic chirps. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

Elusive katydid

So it does exist! The expedition team lucked out and spotted this katydid, a type of grasshopper, in China. This particular species, Tettigoni chinensis, had only been spotted once since 1933. Click to enlarge.
© David Emmett

Royle`s pika

Here’s a Royle’s pika, Ochotona roylei, sunning itself on a rock in Nepal. When they sense that a predator is sneaking up, the let out a shrill warning call and their bodies jerk forward and up with each bark and whistle. At nighttime they eat their own feces to maximize the nutrients they get from food. Click to enlarge.
© David Emmett

Parrotbill

This rolly, polly bird is a Fulvous Parrotbill (Paradoxornis fulvifrons). They live mostly in reedbeds or bamboo stands, which are also their main source of food. They have short, heavy, and wide parrot-like beaks to cope with these tough grasses. Click to enlarge.
© CI, Piotr Naskrecki

The Mountains of Southwest China

The Mountains of Southwest China, the biodiversity hotspot where Expedition Everest: Mission Himalayas took place. Click to enlarge.